


painter's remedy

by ncts



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, NCT Dream - Freeform, Strangers to Lovers, artist!renjun, florist!jeno, mark is mentioned once, nct - Freeform, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 13:00:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13704978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncts/pseuds/ncts
Summary: a painter's remedy is something beautiful, just like flowers. and lee jeno.





	painter's remedy

**Author's Note:**

> hello ive been writing this for like a week and i actually proofread it.... high five for me... in this house we love soft renjun and jeno

letting out a loud groan, renjun laid sprawled out on the floor of jaemin’s living room, complaining about the painters block he has while trying to figure out what to paint his mom for her birthday.

 

jaemin lets out a deep sigh, taking his eyes off his phone. “why don’t you just paint her something generic? like.. flowers… or something.”

 

renjun shrugged.

 

“i guess, but isn’t that really typical? i want it to have meaning.”

 

with jaemin’s lack of response, the room fell silent.

 

jaemin looked over at renjun, who was still staring at the ceiling of jaemin’s living room.

 

“if you want to paint flowers, i know a guy who deals with them, i’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending you some to paint.”

 

“are you sure?”

 

jaemin nods with a smile, before pulling out his phone to alert the guy.

 

the next week comes around, where jaemin forcibly gets renjun out of his house to go to the florist’s, and choose some flowers for renjun’s quite-generic-but-still-from-the-heart birthday present.

 

renjun had spent the last week creating his perfect bouquet of flowers that symbolize all the right things. hydrangeas for heartfelt emotions, peonies for a happy life, pink carnations for a mothers pride and beauty, hyacinth for family, gardenias for children-family relationships, and the occasional baby’s breath for decoration. 

 

he smiled, reading this off to the florist who is assisting them today, presumably named jeno, based on his name tag. “jeno” smiles as renjun finishes his list, and nods, going to the back to create the bouquet.

 

once jeno comes back with the completed bouquet, renjun smiles widely, seeing the arrangement, tied together with a pale orange ribbon, a beautiful mixture of all the colors easily making the bouquet the prettiest renjun had ever seen.

 

renjun pays for the bouquet, and the pair head home to start renjun’s big project.

 

as renjun finds a well-lit spot in his kitchen to put the flowers, jaemin brings a pure white sheet from one of renjun’s cabinets as a backdrop, and renjun sits down with his canvas. he starts with a sketch, spending far too long making every line look perfect, and jaemin is bored.

by now, he has eaten half of renjun’s food, and he’s not even eating because he’s hungry anymore. it’ll be hours until jeno’s shift ends, and the apartment is dead silent, aside from the occasional curses of frustration from the other when he messes up a line that probably looked perfectly fine. 

 

jaemin eventually leaves, jeno’s shift having ended, and jaemin was tired of sitting utter silence.

 

the two go out for fast food, that being their dinner [renjun would kill him if he found out], and jaemin honestly didn’t think he could eat so much in a day, but he was truly mistaken.

 

as jeno ate his fries, he thought about the smile the customer had while reading off the list of flowers. he’s mad at himself for not getting his name, but it wasn’t like he’d use it. he’ll just admire the stranger from afar.

 

“you okay? you’ve been staring at a random spot on the floor for like 6 minutes.”

 

jeno nodded, averting his attention back to his best friend.

 

the thought of the customer never left his mind. 

 

and it wasn’t until three weeks in the future, that he would see him again. 

 

it was a slow business day, jeno sitting in the chair he kept under the counter, rather than standing behind the counter. he had an americano in hand, attention on the coffeeshop soundtrack that was playing to break the silence.

 

he remembered sitting with mark while choosing these songs. he didn’t think they fit the flower shop that well, but any music that radiated the gentleness that he wanted the shop to radiate worked. he liked the atmosphere that the shop had, it was his little getaway place. 

 

as he slipped into a trance, he almost didn’t hear the ring of the bell that was placed strategically over the door.

 

he came out of his trance immediately once he saw the same person who came to get flowers all that time ago when jaemin brought him to jeno’s shop.

 

so jeno put a smile on.

 

“hi, welcome to lee’s flowers, im jeno, how can i help?”

 

the customer smiled at him, and walked closer, so jeno could hear him when he spoke.

 

“hello, uh, i came here some time ago for flowers, and im back for the same kind. can i get some hydrangeas, peonies, pink carnations, and uh..”

 

“hyacinths, right?”

 

the customers eyes light up as he looks at jeno, jaw slightly dropped, but not too much.

 

“y-.. yeah.”

 

jeno smiled wider, before giving a subtle nod, going to the back room to make renjun’s bouquet.

 

he came back, handing the flowers that looked so similar to the first bouquet, considering they are the same flowers, but nonetheless, renjun was satisfied.

 

“thank you, really, they’re beautiful.”

 

jeno nods, before taking a second to think, and speaks up.

 

“hey, you’re friends with jaemin, right?”

 

“yeah, he’s my best friend, why?”

 

jeno smiles.

 

“i was wondering what your name is, and how would you feel about going out to brunch with me? we can schedule something this weekend if you’re free, or tomorrow, or whenever you can. my shifts are all in the afternoon, so i don’t mind.”

 

renjun smiled wider than he thought he could.

 

“im renjun, and i’d love that.”

 

renjun reaches his hand out, jeno assumes for his phone.

 

he gives renjun his phone, and renjun puts his number into his phone, sending himself a text so he could save jeno’s number.

 

“i’d love to stay, but i have to go to my mom’s house, hence the flowers. it’s her birthday.” renjun laughs.

 

jeno smiles and nods, “happy birthday to her, have a nice day, renjun.”

 

renjun shoots another sweet smile, before making quick eye contact, and leaving the flower shop.

 

it wasn’t until late, that renjun finally came home, and jaemin was already on the floor of his apartment, eating his cheez-its.

 

renjun completely disregarded jaemin, pretending he doesn’t exist, until jaemin spoke up.

 

“when were you planning on telling me that you’re going on a date with lee jeno?”

 

“it’s just brunch.”

 

“okay fine, a brunch date. so, when were you planning on telling me?”

 

renjun sighed, sitting on the couch and getting on his laptop.

 

“if something happens i would’ve told you, i don’t want to give you false hope that im gonna get with your best friend.”

 

jaemin sighed, eating another cheez-it.

 

“jeno’s really nice, i don’t think i’ve ever seen him be mean, and we’ve been best friends since birth. he’d be a nice boyfriend. if you’re up for it, you should give him a chance. i don’t think you’ll regret it.”

 

renjun continues looking at his computer screen, not sure as to how to respond. the rest of the night goes silent, and renjun decides to text jeno.

 

renjun  
hey, so about that brunch……

 

jeno  
are you up for it?

 

renjun  
yeah!

 

jeno  
awesome, when?

 

renjun  
i’m free tomorrow, do you wanna do it then?

 

jeno  
yeah, sure!!

 

renjun  
okay, go to sleep jeno, it’s late. i’ll see you tomorrow

 

jeno  
okay, sleep well renjun

 

jeno  
:)

 

and renjun did. in fact, it was the best he had slept in a while. no plans to paint, not that he had any ideas for what to paint anyways. 

 

all he was looking forward to, was seeing the taller boy at the café.

 

the next morning, he tried a little bit harder while getting ready. he traded an oversized sweater for a black t-shirt instead, and his quite worn jeans for a pair of black skinny jeans. he looked himself in the mirror, and sighed as he put on an army green jacket, and a baseball cap the same color as his jacket on his head. 

 

he decided it was good enough, before sending jeno a text, telling him he was going to leave to the café soon.

 

the café was a cute, comfortable place. the music there was gentle, much like the one at jeno’s shop, and the mixture of coffee and muffin scent strongly appealed to renjun.

 

he spotted jeno sitting at a booth, and walked over to the booth.

 

he smiled at jeno, giving him a soft greeting, and appreciated jeno’s successful attempt at making a nice outfit. 

 

he wore black jeans, a white t-shirt tucked in slightly, with a zip-up covering his shoulders.

 

it was simple, but renjun thought it looked amazing. 

 

the two ordered their coffee and two muffins, jeno offering to get a slice of coffee cake to share, but renjun declining, as he didn’t want him to spent too much on him.

 

he wouldn’t let renjun pay, much to renjun’s dismay. 

 

jeno learned that renjun’s tone of voice is the sweetest he’s ever heard in his life. 

 

he learned that when renjun smiles, his eyes are the slightest bit uneven. he spoke with lots of emphasis, and he used many onomatopoeias.

 

renjun learned lots about jeno as well. jeno was a smiler.

 

whenever renjun was talking, jeno had a small smile. renjun liked the way his lips disappeared when he broke out into a smile. renjun liked the way that he was very touchy. he liked the way jeno holds his cup of coffee. 

 

jeno walked renjun back to his apartment, renjun waving a goodbye with a blush painted on his cheeks.

 

the two of them without fail, stayed in touch. it’s what renjun wanted. hell, it’s what jaemin wanted as well.

 

jaemin always made renjun talk about jeno.

 

jeno liked seeing his two best friends pining after each other. it was cute, renjun truly being attracted to someone, being the first time since renjun had puppy crushes in middle school.

 

jeno, on the other hand, didn’t talk much about renjun.

 

jeno was a very superstitious person. he didn’t want to talk about renjun very highly until he was sure that they had a future. he just didn’t want to jinx it. 

 

but when he did, jaemin could see him hiding his admiration.

 

truth be told, jeno found renjun very interesting. 

 

he found interest in renjun’s strong passion for art. he loved listening to renjun talk about all the types of mediums he likes to draw in, and he was very interested on renjun’s opinions on them.

 

they were minor conversations, but jeno found comfort in renjun’s voice.

 

they hugged for the first time after their third date.

 

jeno walked renjun back to his apartment, and watched as renjun walked away, before turning around and wrapping his arms around jeno’s waist.

 

it was the last thing jeno was expecting, but he wasn’t complaining. renjun was warm, and he smelled of vanilla and cinnamon sugar, and jeno felt better than he initially did.

 

jeno wasn’t one to share his emotions often. he enjoyed solitude and keeping his emotions to himself.

 

that all went out the window though, once jeno got back to his house. 

 

jeno  
jaemin…. im sold

 

jaemin  
what happened

 

jeno  
i love a man

 

jaemin  
what did renjun do

 

jeno  
we went on a walk together to the   
botanical gardens not far from the flower   
shop and then he hugged me when i   
walked him home

 

jeno  
he smells so nice…. i was genuinely taken aback

 

jaemin  
oh yes

 

jaemin  
renjun smells nice

 

jaemin  
i know this

 

jeno  
OKAY BUT

 

jeno  
HE’S WARM

 

jeno  
HE SMELLS WARM AND HE IS WARM  
AND HIS SMILE IS REALLY PRETTY

 

jaemin  
yes

 

jaemin  
you’re right

 

jaemin  
renjun has been talking about   
you since he came home

 

jeno  
REALLY

 

a blush spread on jeno’s cheeks, before he let out a half-frustrated-half-satisfied squeal, followed by a sigh as he laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

 

jaemin never texted jeno back. not that jeno cared, since he fell asleep after anyways, but he wanted to know what renjun was saying.

 

it was probably good things, as jeno is the world’s nicest boy, but who knows what jaemin could be hearing from renjun.

 

with each date, they passed new boundaries.

 

on a 2 am visit to an [empty] mcdonald’s, [much to renjun’s dismay,] they held hands across the booth while they had their mcflurries.

 

the day after, they went to the carnival, and walked around holding hands as well, but this time in public. they fed each other cotton candy and played games to win prizes for one another.

 

renjun invited jeno over to watch a movie, but instead, renjun showed jeno his paintings, something he barely even does for jaemin.

 

but these were all puppy steps.

 

it had been about a month and a half since the first time they ever went out, and their dates had slowly turned into going from jeno’s house to renjun’s, to watch movies, or cook at home, or play board games, and tonight was no different.

 

renjun was sitting in jeno’s lap, his back pressed to jeno’s chest. jeno’s arms had been wrapped around renjun’s frame, and his chin on renjun’s shoulder.

 

the movie had ended quite late, and jeno appeared too tired to walk back home, as it is quite a long walk, and renjun didn’t trust him leaving in the ungodly hours of the night.

 

“are you tired?”

 

jeno nodded, eyes closed, and chin still placed on renjun’s shoulder.

 

renjun reached an arm up, putting it atop jeno’s head, and absentmindedly plays with his hair.

 

“do you want to sleep? you can sleep on my bed; i can sleep on the couch.”

 

jeno let out a soft grumble, and holds renjun a little bit tighter.

 

“you can sleep on the bed, i’ll sleep on the couch, it’s no worries.”

 

renjun was silent for a moment.

 

he was never one to initiate the affection, he just returned it when jeno initiated it.

 

but for some reason, he had gotten a surge of confidence, and somehow mumbled out.

 

“or how about we just both sleep on the bed?”

 

jeno raises his head and opens his eyes, looking at renjun.

 

“are you sure? i don’t want to make you... uncomfortable... or anything.”

 

renjun nods, “it’s fine, we can do it.”

 

jeno nods, picking renjun up the slightest bit, to let him know he wants to get up.

 

renjun gets up, and jeno follows suit, but quickly and carefully turns renjun around, pulling him into a hug. 

 

they stand there for a second, jeno’s eyes closed, as he holds renjun close to him.

 

renjun’s eyes are closed as well, and his arms are wrapped around jeno’s waist.

 

the hug felt like it lasted a lifetime, when in reality, it probably lasted a few minutes, but jeno’s mind was too clouded to realize that.

 

“renjun?”

 

“hm?”

 

“is it okay if, uh,”

 

renjun looks up at jeno, waiting for him to continue.

 

“can i… uh… can i kiss you?”

 

renjun smiles, nodding, before softly placing his lips on jeno’s.

 

it lacked movement, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

 

renjun pulled away to look at jeno, who was strongly blushing, and he kissed renjun again.

 

this time it lasted longer than it did the first time, not that either of them were complaining.

 

jeno pulled away, whispering softly.

 

“we should probably head to bed.”

 

renjun nodded, taking jeno’s hand, and walking into renjun’s bedroom. jeno had changed into a pair of sweatpants he had brought over here, for the occasions that his jeans are far too uncomfortable.

 

renjun had already crawled into bed, and jeno got in just about a minute later.

 

renjun immediately laid his head on jeno’s chest, sighing in content.

 

“you okay?”

 

“yeah, just thinking.”

 

“what about?”

 

renjun takes a second to answer.

 

“you. me. _us_.”

 

and now jeno was silent.

 

he thought about it, he thought about it hard.

 

not that there was anything to really think about. jeno wanted to be with renjun, as long as that’s what renjun wanted.

 

“what about us?”

 

renjun put his chin atop his hands, that were placed on jeno’s chest to avoid hurting him with his chin.

 

“i like you jeno, i like you a lot.”

 

jeno nods. “and i like you a lot.”

 

renjun lays his head back down.

 

“i want you to be my boyfriend.”

 

jeno nods, putting his hand on renjun’s back, rubbing it.

 

“i want to be your boyfriend as well; i just want you to make sure this is what you want. i don’t want to force you into a relationship you might not be happy in.”

 

renjun shook his head.

 

“no, this is what i want, it’s what i’ve wanted.”

 

jeno nods, continuing to rub renjun’s back.

 

“so huang renjun,”

 

renjun goes back to the chin-on-hand placement, looking at jeno in the eyes.

 

“will you be my boyfriend?”

 

renjun smiles, before moving forward slightly so he can reach jeno’s lips.

 

jeno smiles against renjun’s lips, pulling him closer than he thought he could be.

 

it takes them some time to fall asleep. the two are huddled together, fingers intertwined, jeno pressing kisses to the back of renjun’s hand every now and then.

 

renjun was the first to fall asleep, jeno shortly after, and the both can confirm, it was the best sleep ever.

 

in the morning, renjun decided on making breakfast, since jeno was still asleep and he felt that he would be for some time longer.

 

jeno woke up while renjun fried some eggs, coming into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around renjun’s waist from the back, laying his tired head on renjun’s shoulder.

 

“good morning, angel.”

 

jeno let out a soft mumble of what renjun could only assume is a ‘good morning,’ but he wasn’t too sure.

 

once renjun finished making breakfast, the two sat at renjun’s kitchen table, and jeno put his chin in his hand, to stare at renjun while he ate.

 

renjun let out a smile and hid his face, a blush coating his cheeks. 

 

“why are you looking at me?”

 

“because you’re cute.”

 

“just eat your damn food.”


End file.
